J. Rollins

My post last night was lost when the servers crashed. Short story: my wife and I are moving to Cleveland. We will be buying a house. She's originally from NE Ohio and I've been to Cleveland about 5 times. We're down to three choices: 1) Shaker Heights 2) Cleveland Heights 3) Lakewood. I somewhat understand what each area offers. East side has nicer houses, more culture, good shopping, mass transit, but closer to crime and not convenient to highways. The westside is more accessible and has the lake nearby, but limited number of houses with a yard and limited cultural areas (although I may be wrong here). Please share the postives and negatives from each area, and if you could pick one place to live (from these three), what would you choose? We are not interested in living in a good school district. Also, we have a dog and want a relatively nice backyard. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the input. We are both in our thirties and like living in an urban area. The places we are considering are: Shaker Heights, University Heights, Coventry(?), etc. I'd like to check out Ohio City and Tremont. We are planning on having kids in the next 3-5 years. My wife works in the retail/apparel industry and I'm in finance. One of the reasons we are leaving Atlanta is due to the high costs. You cannot afford to live in a safe, in-town neighborhood for under $400k. Cleveland seems very affordable. The first time I visited Cleveland, I was surprised the city has so much to offer. I especially liked the older neighborhoods, the history, arts scene, and the downtown area, although I was a little disappointed in the lakefront. I was expecting more of an accessible lakefront, like Chicago. I read there may be new development regarding this. I've been doing some extensive reading on the city and this website helps. I wanted to get input from people living in Cleveland about their thoughts on the city. We are still in the consideration stage. Thanks. J.

My wife and I currently live in Atlanta, which is the typical southern sprawling city. This is not to say Atlanta doesn't have upsides; relatively affordable housing, a good job market, natural beauty, etc. But due to the crime, traffic, and increasing costs, we both want to leave in 1 year. She's from NE Ohio and wants to go back to Cleveland. I've been to Cleveland about 4-5 times and really liked the historic buildings, the people, the lake, certain neighborhoods, the affordable housing, the art, etc. However, I have big concerns about moving up there. It seems the population continues to decrease, there appears to be a lack of a diverse job market, limited number of jobs, the housing market seems slow, and the school system insufficient. Are there improvements in these areas that aren't making the news? It seem Cleveland is focusing on development of the downtown area and is focusing on attracting younger people to the city. It appears the city is trying to turn things around. Are there more promising signs, or are my concerns justified. Any comments will be appreciated.